Crews from Pro Excavation LLC conduct fuel spill cleanup and site remediation services at a gas station.

Pro Excavation LLC prepares a site for underground utility installation in a multifamily subdivision.

Pro Excavation LLC Owner Don Ashmore started his career in the petroleum industry, building a body of work with gas companies as an owner and operator of gas tanks and oil trucks. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, stricter regulations were imposed, and the Environmental Protection Agency required filling station operators to upgrade their underground storage systems. It was then that Ashmore began to carve out a niche in site development and remediation.

Ashmore began taking on more diverse types of excavation work, running other companies before opening Pro Excavation in 2008. “Business was good,” he says, “and that is really what catapulted us to where we are now.”

The company specializes in commercial site development and large-scale residential work for both the public and private sector on projects ranging from $100,000 to $1.5 million. The team’s work spans a variety of settings, including schools and nursing homes, manufacturing facilities, multifamily housing, retail spaces, utilities, mixed-use development, single-family residential, parking lots and medical buildings.

The staff of 21 serves clients in all of Connecticut and Western Massachusetts. The company has flourished, Ashmore says, due to its wide range of capabilities and his undivided attention to every job. He says, “Our diversity in expertise gives us the resources internally to resolve issues and make things better for our clients.”

Diversity in Expertise

Ashmore notes that Pro Excavation has the expertise needed for many types of excavation jobs, as employees have a range of knowledge required not only for utilities, but also for new construction and engineering. The company offers a full range of site development and remediation services, such as excavation and earth moving; roadway utility relocation; and site concrete and paving for roads and parking. Pro Excavation also operates divisions for commercial property management and commercial property maintenance.

Community service is also important to Ashmore, as Pro Excavation is a proud promoter of autism awareness. Some of the company trucks are wrapped with the Autism Speaks logo in support of Ashmore’s grandson Dominic, who is on the autism spectrum. The company is working toward dedicating the entire truck fleet to that message and often makes appearances at fundraisers to promote the cause and give children an opportunity to explore the vehicles.

Ashmore explains that his office staff also plays a large role in the company’s success. He says that, for today’s projects, there is a great deal of work involved behind the scenes to coordinate paperwork and requirements by local and federal agencies. “The folks in the office often get forgotten, but they do a lot to help those who are in the field,” he says. “It truly is a team effort, and when you have a team that gels like ours, and puts safety at the forefront, things go well.”

Hands-on Attention with Every Project

The hallmark of Ashmore’s approach to business is to be present on every job site. “With every single job, regardless of size, I get my arms around it, understand the scope and visit that job site every day,” he says. “It’s not easy, and takes a lot of time, but it makes a difference. It keeps customers happy, and we have a lot of repeat clients. When clients keep coming back it helps us know we’re appreciated.”

Ashmore explains another approach that has served his company well: His crews do not transition to another project until the current job is complete. He says, “Once we get involved with a client, we don’t leave until the job is done, no matter how long it takes.” The company sticks to this method even if the no-overlap rule results in a day or two of downtime between projects. When you start a new job before the previous one is finished, Ashmore explains, “It becomes a time-demand issue, and you can’t give 100% to either project.”

The Pro Excavation staff prides itself on attention to safety, and Ashmore cites the company’s work for a large commercial truck fleet company as an example. They tasked Pro Excavation with construction of two new natural gas fueling depots. “Any work with natural gas is very complex and technical, and you have to be very safety conscious every step of the way, with every aspect of the installation thought through in advance,” Ashmore says. “Completing two of these stations with zero problems was a big accomplishment.”

The goal in construction is always to complete every project on time and within budget. To accomplish this, Pro Excavation takes preemptive steps to ensure surprises don’t result in time delays or unexpected cost overruns. The staff reviews all material costs and availability before the project start date, employee schedules are determined by management before work begins, and all machinery is maintained by the company’s in-house mechanic before and throughout the project.

Higher Tech

Looking to the future, Ashmore plans to add more site development work to his company’s repertoire. He says, “I love to work, and I enjoy what I do. But if I could pick one thing to do more of, it would be site development. It’s so intricate, with so many moving parts, that you have to think 10-20 steps ahead.”

To put a feather in its cap on the site development side, the team is incorporating more use of technology, such as GPS software for the vehicles and computerized site survey technology, in addition to its routine upgrades to equipment and fleet. “The field is growing so fast and technology has exploded in terms of what tools are out there to help us do a better job,” Ashmore says. His team is undergoing training for some of those tools now, such as learning new survey software packages and how to use them while on the job site.

While technology has its place, it’s no substitute for the hard work, expertise and hands-on approach that Pro Excavation incorporates into every job, Ashmore says.

“Our main priority is high-quality workmanship and outstanding service,” he says. “Our customers know they can depend on us for all their needs, and we strive to maintain that trust every day.”